Sox finish off season sweep of Angels

Friday

The Red Sox' pitching and defense propelled them to victory Thursday night, finishing off a season sweep of the Los Angeles Angels

BOSTON — Alex Cora does not like the term bullpen game, but under the pains of perjury even he would have to describe his team’s 4-2 victory over the Angels Thursday night was exactly that.

Cora and his Red Sox got six fine innings out of two long relievers, Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez, and got the winning runs on a home run over the bullpen, it coming off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr. in the seventh.

Thus, Boston has won four in a row; went 5-1 on this AL West home stand; is 6-1 in its last seven games; has moved to a full game ahead of the idle Yankees in the AL East; and is on a pace to win 109 games in 2018.

“Outstanding,” was how Cora described the work of Johnson and Velazquez. “We were very pleased with the way we got six innings out of those two guys.”

Johnson pitched the first four, Velazquez the next two. This is why baseball is such a great metaphor for life — Johnson did most of the work and Velazquez got the win. Parents — train your kids to be relief pitchers if you want them to make good money off the labor of others.

Sans a decision, Johnson’s record as a starter remained 1-0. He has only allowed two earned runs in 10 innings in his two starts this season and say this for him — the Red Sox win when he takes the rubber to start a game.

They are 7-1 in his eight career starts and have won those last seven in a row.

Velazquez improved his record to a nifty 6-0 in 2018. He did, indeed, pitch two shutout innings while Johnson gave up a run in his four, a homer to Andrelton Simmons.

Angels starter Jaime Barria pitched well enough and left with the score 1-1, but his bullpen was not as effective as the Red Sox. Barria allowed a solo homer to Rafael Devers, then left the game and watched as Jose Alvarez walked Brock Holt with the bases loaded in the sixth to make it 2-1.

Bradley’s home run in the seventh came off ex-Sox bullpen resident Noe Ramirez. It was not Bradley’s only contribution to the cause. He made yet another terrific play in center field, robbing Justin Upton of multiple bases with two out in the first.

“He’s been consistent the last month,” Cora said of his center fielder. “Defense, we know what he brings on a nightly basis. It’s good to see him smile on the field again. There was a time he wasn’t smiling much.”

The homer made it 4-1. By then, Cora had employed Johnson, Velazquez and Brandon Workman as pitchers and he went to Joe Kelly for the eighth. Kelly’s efforts were rewarded with one of those 21st century stats, a hold, although in this case it was more like a hold-your-breath.

Kelly walked Mike Trout and gave up consecutive singles to Upton and Albert Pujols. Pujols’ hit made it 4-2 and put men at first and second for Simmons. He ripped a line drive to right that Betts caught for the inning’s first out.

David Fletcher followed with a fly ball to left that seemed destined to have its flight detoured by the Green Monster, with a great likelihood that the game would be tied when the play was over.

Instead, Andrew Benintendi raced back to the warning track and made a twisting, leaping catch in front of the wall for the second out, the Angels’ runners holding their spots on the bases.

Luis Valbuena’s routine fly ball ended the inning.

“I was just trying to time it up,” Benintendi said. “He didn’t hit it that good, and I guess it kind of got in on him, or off the end, but I was trying to time it. It’s short to begin with, and I knew who was on base, so I figured I’d try.”

The play bailed out Kelly, who has been roughed up lately. It allowed Craig Kimbrel to come in for the ninth with a two-run cushion and he made short work of the dispirited Angels, who went 0-6 versus Boston this year and were outscored by the Red Sox, 49-12.

They are glad, no doubt, to not have to worry about what comes out of, or goes over, the Fenway bullpens again in 2018.

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